N
nugget
Guest
hi. i want to start up a tropical fresh water tank and wondered what fish live best together. can you help please. 
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Well, you first need to do certain other things. You'll ahve plenty fo time to decide what to put in the tank alter.
Read the links in my signature. Make sure you understand everything. Then tell me what size tank you were thinking to get and also let me know if there was anything int hose links you didn't understand fully. I'd be happy to explain (and so would many others).
I'm also going to PM you something in a minute
Welcome to the forum BTW
Read the links in my signature. Make sure you understand everything. Then tell me what size tank you were thinking to get and also let me know if there was anything int hose links you didn't understand fully. I'd be happy to explain (and so would many others).
I'm also going to PM you something in a minute
Welcome to the forum BTW
Yes, welcome indeed. Sylvia has some great links down there. Give them a go and let us know what size tank you were thinking of so we can help you out
Hi again, nugget, your PM appears to be disabled - do you think you could enable it? Thanks.
Nevermind, I'll post it all:
I have copied something I wrote into here. I was going to PM it to you as it's basicaly the stuff that I told you to read from my signature but it contains some extra things about maintainance and the like that perhaps you may have over-looked in those links (read them first).
Besides being very long, I didn't want to post it as it's about goldfish. I wrote it to give to people at my LFS who keep buying goldfish without having done any research at all. Don't worry though, keeping goldfish and tropicals is basicaly the same - just ignore the bits to do with reccomended tank sizes and keep in mind that your tank will also need a heater.
Once again, excuse the length:
Did you know that goldfish should live to be at least 20 years old? Many have lived to double that. The oldest ever was 43 years of age. They also grow to 12" (30cm) and are social fish which enjoy the company of others of their kind.
Unfortunately, a lot of first-time serious fish keepers have no idea about this. Most people have an image in their mind of the little carnival fish they had in a little plastic bowl and called 'Goldie' as a child - usualy it lived a grand total of 2 weeks.
Below I have attempted to summarise everything you need to know to start keeping goldfish successfuly. It is by no means a full and detailed acount but it is comprehensive enough to answer most questions. It'll probably come as a shock to you just how complicated all this first appears to be but that is exactly why I originaly decided to write this. I'm hoping that, through this, some people will learn or, at least, take the time to read, what they need to know. Maybe people will then appreciate that keeping goldfish is much more than keeping a 2 inch fish in a bowl for a couple of weeks and come to realise it's actualy a 20-year commitment to an amazing animal that grows to a foot in length and requires enough room to swim around and be social with others of its own kind. Hopefuly this will save goldfish lives - and though fish lives don't count for much as far as most people are concerned, perhaps you will come to appreciate that these are lives none the less.
Cycling - The best kept secret for successful fishkeeping.
It's shocking how many fish stores and pet stores forget to mention this to first-time fish keepers. Cycling realy is the very most important thing you will ever learn about fish and fish keeping so learn it well and don't cut corners. Your fish will love you for it.
A fish tank is literally a miniature ecosystem. It is essential to encourage it to remain in balance and allow all the organisms and micro-organisms that live in your tank to work together so as to provide your fish with a safe environment to live and prosper in. When you read about the 'cycle' below, you'll begin to see just how significant this all is and you'll realise that successfuly keeping fish as actualy all about successfuly keeping bacteria... Yes, that's right - bacteria!
You see, fish produce waste when they are fed, this waste contains ammonia. Ammonia is a highly toxic substance to fish and will cause permanent damage if they are exposed to it. Sometimes this damage won't show up until the fish is severely stressed or ill in the future, other times, this ammonia poisoning will kill the fish within hours.
Luckily, there are some good bacteria that like to use up ammonia and convert it to nitrIte. Unfortunately, this nitrIte is still very poisonous and can still result in fish deaths. It usualy takes a couple of weeks for the ammonia to be entirely converted to ntirIte. While this is happening, you should be testing your water daily. There are test kits available at your local fish store that are easy to use and will make this possible. The liquid-based ones are much longer-lasting than the innacurate test strips and, though they cost slightly more, you'll save more in the long run as they don't need replacing. If you are testing daily as you should be, you'll notice that ammonia will slowly drop as the good bacteria begin to colonise your tank. At the same time, you'll see a rise in nitrItes. When the nitrIte peaks, we call it a 'nitrite spike'.
Again, fortunately, there are some more good bacteria out there that will colonise your tank and convert the ntirItes to an even less toxic substance. This new compound is called 'nitrAte'. Just as before, the nitrIte will gradualy decrease and the nitrAte will rise. Again, this should take 2-3 weeks.
Once ammonia and ntirIte are at 0 (zero), your tank is safe for fish. We say it's 'cycled' and the levels should remain constant as the number of bacteria will change to meet the needs of your tank. If there's more ammonia being produced (as the fish grows and eats more for example), the bacteria will multiply to deal with it. However, they do need some time to multiply. If the extra ammonia appears suddenly, they may not be able to cope and this could be very dangerous for your fish. This is why it so very important to ensure you never over-feed and never add too many fish at once. Leave about a week between each new addition to let the bacteria catch up. To not over-feed, feed just once or twice a day - just enough food to cover your fish' eye and so that none is left uneaten after a couple of minutes.
NitrAtes can only be removed by doing weekly partial water changes. You should aim to keep them under 40ppm (parts per million). To do this, you should change about 25% of your tank's water every week. Provided the tank is large enough for the fish in it, and provided you are not over-feeding, keeping nitrAtes low should be very easy. Remember, nitrAtes are still harmful so keeping them as low as possible is reccomended.
Besides a weekly water change and gravel vacuum (to suck out any sunken, rotting, uneaten food and to remove any large debris or fish waste), plants can also help keep nitrAtes low as they will use them up. In a goldfish tank, plants like elodea are ideal as they are easy to grow and do so quickly. However, you may find your goldfish develops a taste for them as well. That's perfectly fine for the goldfish just be aware that you will have to remove any floating bits and pieces to keep them from rotting and polluting the water.
You may have noticed that, in the explenation above, the ammonia the good bacteria feed on was introduced by adding fish that produce waste. Now, here's the important bit for you if you want to start out correctly: Ammonia can also come from rotting fish food, rotting plants, other animals' waste and pretty much anything else organic that might be rotting in your tank. Why is this so important? because it means you don't have to expose your fish to the deadly ammonia or ntirIte at all. You can get an established colony of good bacteria in your tank BEFORE you add any fish by doing what we call a 'fishless cycle'.
The cycle with fish described above, you'll have noticed, took just over a month to complete. A fishless cycle can take as little as 2 weeks and you don't need to do water changes or gravel vacuums while it is happening like you would if there were fish in the tank. All you need to do is add some fish flake or pellet food to your tank and let it sit. It will gradualy rot, producing ammonia. This will start off the cycle. At this point, it is essential that you monitor your water levels. test every other day and make sure the cycle is taking place. If the fish food dissapears at any point, add a tiny bit more. Don't over-do the amount of fish food you add or the cycle will take longer. 4 -5 flakes should be enough to begin with. Once the ammonia and ntirIte have reached zero, you'll notice that your nitrAtes are very high. At this point, you need to do a 90% water change to bring them down to under 40ppm.
Your tank is now ready for its first fish! Go out and buy your first goldfish right after you've done that 90% water change. Put it in your tank. Monitor the water levels to make sure the ammonia and nitrIte remain at zero. You now need to start doing a weekly 25% water change and gravel vacuum to keep nitrAtes under control.
If you ever get any noteable readings for ammonia or nitrIte again, decrease the amount you are feeding, do a gravel vacuum and do a water change to bring the levels down. Never slack on the weekly water change. Especialy with smaller tanks or with poop-machines like goldfish, this is especialy important and must never be skipped or over-looked.
Speeding up the cycle.
Even with a fishless cycle, the time it takes for the process to be complete can vary. You may want to speed it all up. Or it may be that you didn't realise how deadly ammonia could be and are in the process of cycling with fish. Though your goldfish is hardy and seems to be doing well so far, you are worried about the long-term effect of ammonia and ntirIte poisoning and want to speed up the cycle to save them from the suffering. Well, you're in luck...
The good bacteria that are responsible for making the cycling process possible, and for converting ammonia to ntirites and then to nitrAtes, grow in your tank's substrate (the gravel or sand on the bottom) and in your tank's filter media (that's the sponge in your canister, hang-on-the-back, external or internal power filter). To speed up the cycle, all you need to do is add some filter media or gravel from an already established tank to your tank and, at the same time, add your first fish.
The 'mature' gravel/media will contain a good number of the good bacteria already so they will get a good head start and be able to multpily quickly to meet the needs of your tank.
You may have noticed that the bacteria live in the filter media and gravel, not in your water. For this reason, as chlorine found in tap water kills bacteria, it is incredibly important, firstly, to always use de-chlorinator when doing water changes and, secondly, to not replace filter media unless it's absolutely necessary.
You'll find many filters come with instructions to 'change sponge/filter media every... insert number of days here'. Ignore this. Only change your filter's media if it is, literally, starting to break down. Even then, only change part of it at a time. If the problem is that it is getting clogged up with waste, don't replace it, just rinse it in a bucket of old tank water. NEVER use water directly from the tap that, subsequently, contains chlorine. This will kill the good bacteria that grow in your filter and will cause your tank to cycle all over again
A note here is due - 'carbon', that you can also put in your filter to remove some chemicals from the water (along with ordinary sponges), does have to be replaced regularly as it only remains active for about a month. Replacing this will not cause a re-cycle.
Setting up a new tank for goldfish.
Well, obviously, the first thing you'll need is a tank. For goldfish, that's a surprisingly large one. The rule to go by is 20 gallons for the first goldfish and 10 gallons for each additional fish. So to keep goldfish in a group of 5 (they are actualy very social), you would need a 60 gallon tank (approximately 240 litres). This, it should be noted, does apply to the larger varieties like commons, comets, shubunkins, orandas and fantails. Small, fancy types like bubble-eyes and black moors will do fine in 10 gallons per fish.
The shape of the tank doesn't matter much but, generaly, a long, shallow, rectangular tank is prefferable over a fancy, tall hexagonal one. This is because the former offers more surface area (therefore more swimming space and more area for oxygen to enter the tank).
The stand for the tank isn't that important provided it can hold up the weight. remember, with the tank full of heavy water and ornaments, it will be quite a load. Many people find it practical to also have a cabinet built into the stand to store all their fishy items. Also keep in mind that some tanks come with a guarantee that will only apply if they are kept on specialy-manufactured fish tank stands.
You'll want to place a half-inch thick piece of styrofoam/polystirene cut to the size of your tank between it's base and the surface of the stand. This will ensure that the weight of the tank is spread evenly so it doesn't crack.
It is a good idea to avoid positioning your aquarium in direct sunlight. The sunlight will cause temperature fluctuations that are harmful to your fish and will also encourage algae growth. It's also best to avoid very busy corridors or places close to loud-speakers or similar devices that are likely to startle or disturb the fish. Though they cannot actualy here noise, they can feel the vibrations caused by it and become extremely stressed as a result.
Once you've positioned your tank and stand, buy yourself a filter that is at least the minnimum required for your tank (ask your fish shop about this). If in doubt, remember that bigger is better. There is no such thing as over-filtering. In contrast, under-filtering is extremely dangerous for the fish. If you can afford to, don't hesitate to go for more than one filter. More is always better when it comes to goldfish as they produce huge amounts of waste and the more filtration, the cleaner that water will be.
You may then choose to add a hood with lights. A hood/cover for the aquarium is generaly a very useful thing to have. Goldfish CAN jump. Finding a dried up goldfish on the floor is not pleasant. Lighting is not essential but is necessary if you wish to grow plants. It may also help you view your fish. However, if you have no intention of keeping live plants, go for weaker lighting or else you will be encouraging algae growth. Lights should go on at a similar time every day for a maximum of 12 hours but it's ok to leave them on for less if you are worried about algae - just make sure it's a similar period of time every day so as not to stress the fish. They appreciate routine. A timer may be a useful investment.
Once you have done all this, fill the tank with tap water and add the appropriate amount of de-chlorinator. De-chlorinators should be sold at your fish store and are essential if you wish to keep healthy fish. They perform the invaluable task of removing chlorine from tap water. Chlorine is added to tap water to kill bacteria - but it also kills the good bacteria that make 'cycling' possible. If you do not add de-chlorinator, the chlorine will prevent any good bacteria from growing and the tank will never cycle. If you forget to add de-chlorinator during a water change, once you have fish, you can cause the tank to 'un-cycle' and kill off your fish. As such de-chlorinator is one of the most important things for you to buy and learn to use correctly before you get your first fish.
You are now ready to start a fishless cycle (as described in the 'cycling' section above).
While you are waiting for the tank to cycle, you can buy any ornaments or gravel you wish to use to decorate the tank. Avoid real wood, shells/coral or limestone-based rocks - all of which can alter the water chemistry or stain the water. The best substrate to use in a goldfish tank is either smooth sand (but not crushed coral) or medium-sized pebbles. Make sure that if you do use something from your garden or something not specificaly made for use in a fish tank, you boil it first and that it was not exposed to any toxic chemicals. For example, don't use rocks from an area that was likely to have been sprayed with pesticides. You may also wish, at this point, to get a bubblestone or bubblewand. These are usualy powered by an air pump and are the little bubble-making objects you often see in aquariums. Though they are aestheticaly pleasing, they can also help increase the amount of oxygen in the tank (a good thing for the fish). Medium-sized bubbles are best - you can usualy adjust the setting to create bubbles the size you want. This kind of aeration is not necessarily as your filter should do the job anyway but it is beneficial to your fish and looks nice.
Maintainance
Once your tank is fully set up and cycled, maintainance is actualy quite minnimal. All you need to do is a weekly 25% water change with de-chlorinated tap water that's of a similar temperature to that in the tank. It's also a good idea to get a gravel vacuum so you can syphon out any debris into a bucket. You'll find the syphon also makes water changes a lot less tedious (as opposed to manualy removing cup-fulls of water for example) and the bucket enables you to calculate the volume you are removing and need to replace easily. Even if you aren't sure now, you'll get the hang of it pretty soon.
Besides the weekly water change and gravel vac., it's a good idea to clean out your filter once a month to stop it from getting clogged. Always do this just after you've removed tank water during a water change. This way you can use the old tank water to rinse out the filter media and sponges. It is essential that you NEVER use tap water to clean out the filter or else you risk killing off all the good bacteria. ALWAYS use old tank water to clean out the filter media/sponge.
Also of note is the fact that many filter manufacturers suggest you change the filter media and replace it on a regular basis - DON'T DO THIS. This is just one of many ways for them to get more of your money and is completely unecessary. Furthermore, and even more importantly, as it is this filter media that contains your good bacteria, removing it removes these good bacteria - causing your tank to un-cycle and deadly ammonia and nitrite spikes to occur. The only time when you might need to replace filter media is if the sponge is several years old and starting to fall apart - by this time you will no longer be needing this guide and will have become quite knowledgeable in respect to keeping goldfish. It's still worth mentioning, however, that in the event that you decide to replace your filter media completely, it should be done little by little. For example, you should cut out one quarter of it and replace that quarter, then a week later cut a different quarter, the week after the next quarter and so on until it has been fully replaced. Don't worry about replacing filter media now though - you will probably find you never have to do it at all.
Daily maintainance is limmited to feeding, which I have mentioned several times through-out this guide. Still, I'll outline some important points:
- It's best to feed little and often. By little I mean 2-3 flakes (if you are feeding flake) per fish or the equivalent amount in other forms of food.
- It's ok to feed more than once a day but only if you are prepaired to do more regular water changes to compensate for the extra waste. Idealy, feed only twice daily to avoid the need for extra water changes.
- Vary the diet as much as possible. Feeding several brands of flake is one way of doing this but it is even better to include different types of food altogether. For example:
- Blanched vegetables such as zuchinni
- De-shelled green peas
- Cucumber with the skin removed
- Live or frozen foods such as bloodworm, blackworm, brine shrimp and daphnia
- Pelleted foods
- Avoid freeze-dried foods. They often cause swim bladder problems and constipation and have little to no nutritional value.
- Pelleted or flake foods should be soaked for a couple of minutes before being fed. Make sure you use TANK water to soak them.
- Vegetable/green foods should be offered regularly (wash thoroughly first and boil where necessary) and left in the tank for up to 2 hours. Make sure you don't leave them for any longer than this as they will soon start rotting and pollute the tank water.
- Live and frozen foods are important if you want fast growth and healthy fish but don't over-feed with them. These are generaly messy foods so feed 2-3 times a week and make sure you remove any leftovers within half an hour.
- A diet of flake or pellet food alone is likely to lead to health problems such as swim bladder disease or constipation. Including green foods regularly and live/frozen supplements should reduce the risk of this. Keep in mind that commercial flake/pellet foods should still be the basis of your fish' nutrition as they do provide a well-rounded diet containing most of what your fish needs to be healthy.
Spotting the first signs of disease and how to treat.
The first thing to realise is that the number one cause of disease in fish is bad water quality and stress. If you can elliminate these, your fish will be healthy. If you fishless cycle the tank to begin with and buy a tank that's large enough for the number of goldfish you are proposing, and provided you then stick to doing a weekly water change and don't over-feed, your fish should never fall ill.
Unfortunately, things don't always work out this way. Sometimes a new addition will introduce disease or something beyond your control will stress the fish and make them susceptible to disease. If this happens, always be aware that the first thing you should do is check water quality. If ammonia and nitrIte are not 0 or nitrAte is above 20-40ppm, do a water change to bring them down (remember to use de-chlorinator).
The most common diseases in goldfish are:
Ich/ick - also known as white-spot: This looks like your fish is covered in grains of salt and is actualy one stage in the lifecycle of a protozoan parasite. There are many ways of treating but the most reliable is simply to buy an anti-white-spot medication from your fish store and follow the instructions. Water changes, as always, will be beneficial. There is a similar disease known as velvet that looks like a light sprinkling of gold dust. It can be treated using the same medications as ich.
Fungus: This is usualy a secondary infection that occurs over an injury or other open wound/dead tissue. It looks like a growth of white cotton wool-like fuzz. An anti-fungus medication from your fish store, combined with frequent water changes, usualy solves the problem. It is also often useful to add salt (NOT table salt - AQUARIUM salt) but make sure you know the appropriate amount to add beforehand.
External bacterial infections: Like the fungus, these often look like a white patch but are not as fuzzy/fluffy looking. They may also include areas of reddening - often around the gills or across fins - or apparently missing scales. Use an anti-bacterial medication to treat though water changes alone may solve most of the problem.
Fin-rot: This is probably one of the most common problems encountered in newly added goldfish. It looks like dark or white edges on fins or the fins may start to 'melt' away. Usualy, the problem is that the tank is not fully cycled and water changes, as usual, help immensely. Get an anti-fin-rot medication. Many of these medications are also made to treat secondary fungus infections that are likely to occur on top of the fin-rot. Again, fin-rot can be treated with the aid of aquarium salt but make sure the dosage is correct as too much can cause serious burns whilst too little simply is of no use.
Swim bladder disease: This is characterised by abnormal swimming - often the fish appears un-balanced. In more severe cases it won't be able to move up or down in the water - either resting at the bottom ro floating at the top. Sometimes the fish will swim in uncontrollable loops or tilted to one side. Unfortunately, though swim bladder problems can be avoided by feeding the right foods (keep flake/pellet foods to a minnimum or soak before feeding; supplement the diet with blanched zuchinni, de-shelled green peas, cucumber and, at least twice a week, live or frozen bloodworm, blackworm, daphnia or brine shrimp.), swim bladder can't realy be cured. The most common cause of this problem is food as mentioned above, occasionaly, however, it's an internal bacterial infection. In such cases, if caught early enough, treating with an antibiotic medication (prefferably one added to the food) can prevent the condition from progressing.
Dropsy: Though this is often considered a disease in itself, it is actualy a symptom of an internal bacterial infection. As such, the best treatment is antibiotics. However, dropsy is characterised by bloating and the pine-coning of scales (ie: the scales start to stick out like a pine cone). At this stage, the disease is usualy to far progressed to be treatable. Internal bacterial infections can also cause pop-eye where the eye(s) seem to buldge out. Don't confuse this with telscope-eye varieties of goldfish such as the black moor which have pronounced eyes due to their breeding.
Bloat/Constipation: Believe it or not, fish can get constipated. Usualy the problem is too much dry food and the best solution is simply to fast for a day and then feed some de-shelled green peas until the fish is pooping normaly again. Keep in mind, however, that bloating can also be a symptom of an internal bacterial or even parasitic infection.
Myths:
"The fish will grow to the size of the tank." - This is one of the most cruel rumours being spread around the fish-keeping world. No matter how small the tank, a healthy goldfish (or any other fish for that matter) WILL grow... and grow and grow. Indeed, goldfish will grow exceptionaly fast and require at least 20 gallons of water (around 80 litres) for the first goldfish and an additional 10 gallons for each goldfish after that. That means that to keep this social fish in, say, a group of 5, you would need a 60 gallon (240 litre) tank! There is limmited evidence to suggest that some freshwater fish will limmit their growth by releasing a growth-hindering hormone. However, in the wild, this is meant to be used as a temporary measure to aid survival during bad years. In a tank, there is no telling what kinds of side affects this will have after prolonged exposure. It has been suggested that when fish in captivity are forced to live in small quarters, their body stops growing but their internal organs continue to develop. This is reffered to as 'stunting'. Obviously, a fish that isn't growing on the outside to accomodate is growing organs will die a very slow and painful death. No fishkeeper should be willing to expose their pet to such suffering. Furthermore, 'stunting' will only occur if the tank's water is not changed weekly as it should be. If you maintain the tank properly, with weekly partial water changes and so on, the goldfish will grow normaly and will reach its full potential size.
"Goldfish can be kept with tropicals." - Besides the fact that goldfish are a coldwater species, tropical fish and goldfish are generaly incompatible. Goldfish produce vast amounts of waste - quickly polluting a warmwater tank and causing serious problems for water quality. The reason this is worse in a tropical tank is because the higher temperature means less oxygen can be held in the water. Both the fish and the beneficial bacteria in your filter and gravel need oxygen to survive. However, some 'fancy' goldfish varieties (eg: bubble-eyes, orandas, black moors, fantails, ryukins etc) have been bred for several generations in warmer climates. This does NOT mean that they are tropical though - it just means that they do well in slightly warmer temperatures such as the upper 60's/lower 70's (deg. F). Another good reason to avoid keeping coldwater fish with tropicals is that fish are cold-blooded. Those that evolved to live in colder climates are adapted to this so that they have the correct metabolic rate and expend the right amounts of energy. A coldwater fish kept in a tropical environment will have an increased metabolic rate. Besides this making the fish need more food and produce more waste, it also causes a lot of unecessary stress which almost always is the number one cause of disease. This increase in metabolic rate also effectively shortens the fish' lifespan and weakens its immune system.
"Goldfish can be kept in so-called 'goldfish bowls' without a filter." - NEVER put a goldfish in a bowl. Now that you know about the cycling process and about their potential size, I am sure you can see why. Goldfish get FAR too big for your average bowl and live a very long time if kept correctly. Keep in mind that a goldfish which dies at the age of 2 weeks is literally like a child living to just 2 months. Similarly, even a 5 year old goldfish is the equivalent of a 20 year old person. Now, surely, you want to have your pet live a full and pleasant life? Well then don't keep it in a bowl. Keep a single goldfish in at least a 20 gallon tank and add 10 gallons to that for each additional goldfish. As for the filter, you now no what role 'biological filtration' plays in keeping your fish healthy and you should know all about setting up your goldfish tank and cycling it. A filter not only helps break down lethal chemicals, it also filters out solid waste which would otherwise rot in your tank and make the water very dirty indeed and it also produces a flow of water. This current is essential because it provides 'surface aggitation'. In other words, it moves the surface of the water, rippling it. This increases the surface area - thus enabling more oxygen to enter the water. Oxygen to your fish, of course, is obviously essential.
What do I do if I have more questions?
Luckily, the world is full of dedicated aquarists and people who love goldfish. If you have a computer and access to the internet, that's a great place to start looking for further information. If not, there are plenty of books you can buy or borrow that will help you along the way.
One excellent place to look for information is "Tropical Fish Forums". The address of this site is: www.fishforums.net and it's by far one of the very best sources of information on the internet - and incredibly friendly too. Take a read through the coldwater section first to see if your question has already been answered. Then ask away!
I also reccomend visiting this site for general goldfish information and to see some of the goldfish strains available to you: www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk
Lastly, take a look at the home page of Practical Fishkeeping Magazine: www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/home You can also find this magazine for sale at most reputable newsagents.
Ok, that's the end of it, I hope it was somewhat useful to you despite it not being about tropicals. Hopefuly that'll get you started as well. Please make sure you've read the links in my signature as well though. Feel free to reply to this with a million questions I'd be happy to explain anything at all.
Good luck and sorry about the bits that are more concerned with goldfish - I just literally copied and pasted it from a word file
Sylvia
edit: LOL - I just looked back at it - I'm realy, realy sorry about the length It may take a while to read through so I just hope it's of use to you!
Nevermind, I'll post it all:
I have copied something I wrote into here. I was going to PM it to you as it's basicaly the stuff that I told you to read from my signature but it contains some extra things about maintainance and the like that perhaps you may have over-looked in those links (read them first).
Besides being very long, I didn't want to post it as it's about goldfish. I wrote it to give to people at my LFS who keep buying goldfish without having done any research at all. Don't worry though, keeping goldfish and tropicals is basicaly the same - just ignore the bits to do with reccomended tank sizes and keep in mind that your tank will also need a heater.
Once again, excuse the length:
Did you know that goldfish should live to be at least 20 years old? Many have lived to double that. The oldest ever was 43 years of age. They also grow to 12" (30cm) and are social fish which enjoy the company of others of their kind.
Unfortunately, a lot of first-time serious fish keepers have no idea about this. Most people have an image in their mind of the little carnival fish they had in a little plastic bowl and called 'Goldie' as a child - usualy it lived a grand total of 2 weeks.
Below I have attempted to summarise everything you need to know to start keeping goldfish successfuly. It is by no means a full and detailed acount but it is comprehensive enough to answer most questions. It'll probably come as a shock to you just how complicated all this first appears to be but that is exactly why I originaly decided to write this. I'm hoping that, through this, some people will learn or, at least, take the time to read, what they need to know. Maybe people will then appreciate that keeping goldfish is much more than keeping a 2 inch fish in a bowl for a couple of weeks and come to realise it's actualy a 20-year commitment to an amazing animal that grows to a foot in length and requires enough room to swim around and be social with others of its own kind. Hopefuly this will save goldfish lives - and though fish lives don't count for much as far as most people are concerned, perhaps you will come to appreciate that these are lives none the less.
Cycling - The best kept secret for successful fishkeeping.
It's shocking how many fish stores and pet stores forget to mention this to first-time fish keepers. Cycling realy is the very most important thing you will ever learn about fish and fish keeping so learn it well and don't cut corners. Your fish will love you for it.
A fish tank is literally a miniature ecosystem. It is essential to encourage it to remain in balance and allow all the organisms and micro-organisms that live in your tank to work together so as to provide your fish with a safe environment to live and prosper in. When you read about the 'cycle' below, you'll begin to see just how significant this all is and you'll realise that successfuly keeping fish as actualy all about successfuly keeping bacteria... Yes, that's right - bacteria!
You see, fish produce waste when they are fed, this waste contains ammonia. Ammonia is a highly toxic substance to fish and will cause permanent damage if they are exposed to it. Sometimes this damage won't show up until the fish is severely stressed or ill in the future, other times, this ammonia poisoning will kill the fish within hours.
Luckily, there are some good bacteria that like to use up ammonia and convert it to nitrIte. Unfortunately, this nitrIte is still very poisonous and can still result in fish deaths. It usualy takes a couple of weeks for the ammonia to be entirely converted to ntirIte. While this is happening, you should be testing your water daily. There are test kits available at your local fish store that are easy to use and will make this possible. The liquid-based ones are much longer-lasting than the innacurate test strips and, though they cost slightly more, you'll save more in the long run as they don't need replacing. If you are testing daily as you should be, you'll notice that ammonia will slowly drop as the good bacteria begin to colonise your tank. At the same time, you'll see a rise in nitrItes. When the nitrIte peaks, we call it a 'nitrite spike'.
Again, fortunately, there are some more good bacteria out there that will colonise your tank and convert the ntirItes to an even less toxic substance. This new compound is called 'nitrAte'. Just as before, the nitrIte will gradualy decrease and the nitrAte will rise. Again, this should take 2-3 weeks.
Once ammonia and ntirIte are at 0 (zero), your tank is safe for fish. We say it's 'cycled' and the levels should remain constant as the number of bacteria will change to meet the needs of your tank. If there's more ammonia being produced (as the fish grows and eats more for example), the bacteria will multiply to deal with it. However, they do need some time to multiply. If the extra ammonia appears suddenly, they may not be able to cope and this could be very dangerous for your fish. This is why it so very important to ensure you never over-feed and never add too many fish at once. Leave about a week between each new addition to let the bacteria catch up. To not over-feed, feed just once or twice a day - just enough food to cover your fish' eye and so that none is left uneaten after a couple of minutes.
NitrAtes can only be removed by doing weekly partial water changes. You should aim to keep them under 40ppm (parts per million). To do this, you should change about 25% of your tank's water every week. Provided the tank is large enough for the fish in it, and provided you are not over-feeding, keeping nitrAtes low should be very easy. Remember, nitrAtes are still harmful so keeping them as low as possible is reccomended.
Besides a weekly water change and gravel vacuum (to suck out any sunken, rotting, uneaten food and to remove any large debris or fish waste), plants can also help keep nitrAtes low as they will use them up. In a goldfish tank, plants like elodea are ideal as they are easy to grow and do so quickly. However, you may find your goldfish develops a taste for them as well. That's perfectly fine for the goldfish just be aware that you will have to remove any floating bits and pieces to keep them from rotting and polluting the water.
You may have noticed that, in the explenation above, the ammonia the good bacteria feed on was introduced by adding fish that produce waste. Now, here's the important bit for you if you want to start out correctly: Ammonia can also come from rotting fish food, rotting plants, other animals' waste and pretty much anything else organic that might be rotting in your tank. Why is this so important? because it means you don't have to expose your fish to the deadly ammonia or ntirIte at all. You can get an established colony of good bacteria in your tank BEFORE you add any fish by doing what we call a 'fishless cycle'.
The cycle with fish described above, you'll have noticed, took just over a month to complete. A fishless cycle can take as little as 2 weeks and you don't need to do water changes or gravel vacuums while it is happening like you would if there were fish in the tank. All you need to do is add some fish flake or pellet food to your tank and let it sit. It will gradualy rot, producing ammonia. This will start off the cycle. At this point, it is essential that you monitor your water levels. test every other day and make sure the cycle is taking place. If the fish food dissapears at any point, add a tiny bit more. Don't over-do the amount of fish food you add or the cycle will take longer. 4 -5 flakes should be enough to begin with. Once the ammonia and ntirIte have reached zero, you'll notice that your nitrAtes are very high. At this point, you need to do a 90% water change to bring them down to under 40ppm.
Your tank is now ready for its first fish! Go out and buy your first goldfish right after you've done that 90% water change. Put it in your tank. Monitor the water levels to make sure the ammonia and nitrIte remain at zero. You now need to start doing a weekly 25% water change and gravel vacuum to keep nitrAtes under control.
If you ever get any noteable readings for ammonia or nitrIte again, decrease the amount you are feeding, do a gravel vacuum and do a water change to bring the levels down. Never slack on the weekly water change. Especialy with smaller tanks or with poop-machines like goldfish, this is especialy important and must never be skipped or over-looked.
Speeding up the cycle.
Even with a fishless cycle, the time it takes for the process to be complete can vary. You may want to speed it all up. Or it may be that you didn't realise how deadly ammonia could be and are in the process of cycling with fish. Though your goldfish is hardy and seems to be doing well so far, you are worried about the long-term effect of ammonia and ntirIte poisoning and want to speed up the cycle to save them from the suffering. Well, you're in luck...
The good bacteria that are responsible for making the cycling process possible, and for converting ammonia to ntirites and then to nitrAtes, grow in your tank's substrate (the gravel or sand on the bottom) and in your tank's filter media (that's the sponge in your canister, hang-on-the-back, external or internal power filter). To speed up the cycle, all you need to do is add some filter media or gravel from an already established tank to your tank and, at the same time, add your first fish.
The 'mature' gravel/media will contain a good number of the good bacteria already so they will get a good head start and be able to multpily quickly to meet the needs of your tank.
You may have noticed that the bacteria live in the filter media and gravel, not in your water. For this reason, as chlorine found in tap water kills bacteria, it is incredibly important, firstly, to always use de-chlorinator when doing water changes and, secondly, to not replace filter media unless it's absolutely necessary.
You'll find many filters come with instructions to 'change sponge/filter media every... insert number of days here'. Ignore this. Only change your filter's media if it is, literally, starting to break down. Even then, only change part of it at a time. If the problem is that it is getting clogged up with waste, don't replace it, just rinse it in a bucket of old tank water. NEVER use water directly from the tap that, subsequently, contains chlorine. This will kill the good bacteria that grow in your filter and will cause your tank to cycle all over again
A note here is due - 'carbon', that you can also put in your filter to remove some chemicals from the water (along with ordinary sponges), does have to be replaced regularly as it only remains active for about a month. Replacing this will not cause a re-cycle.
Setting up a new tank for goldfish.
Well, obviously, the first thing you'll need is a tank. For goldfish, that's a surprisingly large one. The rule to go by is 20 gallons for the first goldfish and 10 gallons for each additional fish. So to keep goldfish in a group of 5 (they are actualy very social), you would need a 60 gallon tank (approximately 240 litres). This, it should be noted, does apply to the larger varieties like commons, comets, shubunkins, orandas and fantails. Small, fancy types like bubble-eyes and black moors will do fine in 10 gallons per fish.
The shape of the tank doesn't matter much but, generaly, a long, shallow, rectangular tank is prefferable over a fancy, tall hexagonal one. This is because the former offers more surface area (therefore more swimming space and more area for oxygen to enter the tank).
The stand for the tank isn't that important provided it can hold up the weight. remember, with the tank full of heavy water and ornaments, it will be quite a load. Many people find it practical to also have a cabinet built into the stand to store all their fishy items. Also keep in mind that some tanks come with a guarantee that will only apply if they are kept on specialy-manufactured fish tank stands.
You'll want to place a half-inch thick piece of styrofoam/polystirene cut to the size of your tank between it's base and the surface of the stand. This will ensure that the weight of the tank is spread evenly so it doesn't crack.
It is a good idea to avoid positioning your aquarium in direct sunlight. The sunlight will cause temperature fluctuations that are harmful to your fish and will also encourage algae growth. It's also best to avoid very busy corridors or places close to loud-speakers or similar devices that are likely to startle or disturb the fish. Though they cannot actualy here noise, they can feel the vibrations caused by it and become extremely stressed as a result.
Once you've positioned your tank and stand, buy yourself a filter that is at least the minnimum required for your tank (ask your fish shop about this). If in doubt, remember that bigger is better. There is no such thing as over-filtering. In contrast, under-filtering is extremely dangerous for the fish. If you can afford to, don't hesitate to go for more than one filter. More is always better when it comes to goldfish as they produce huge amounts of waste and the more filtration, the cleaner that water will be.
You may then choose to add a hood with lights. A hood/cover for the aquarium is generaly a very useful thing to have. Goldfish CAN jump. Finding a dried up goldfish on the floor is not pleasant. Lighting is not essential but is necessary if you wish to grow plants. It may also help you view your fish. However, if you have no intention of keeping live plants, go for weaker lighting or else you will be encouraging algae growth. Lights should go on at a similar time every day for a maximum of 12 hours but it's ok to leave them on for less if you are worried about algae - just make sure it's a similar period of time every day so as not to stress the fish. They appreciate routine. A timer may be a useful investment.
Once you have done all this, fill the tank with tap water and add the appropriate amount of de-chlorinator. De-chlorinators should be sold at your fish store and are essential if you wish to keep healthy fish. They perform the invaluable task of removing chlorine from tap water. Chlorine is added to tap water to kill bacteria - but it also kills the good bacteria that make 'cycling' possible. If you do not add de-chlorinator, the chlorine will prevent any good bacteria from growing and the tank will never cycle. If you forget to add de-chlorinator during a water change, once you have fish, you can cause the tank to 'un-cycle' and kill off your fish. As such de-chlorinator is one of the most important things for you to buy and learn to use correctly before you get your first fish.
You are now ready to start a fishless cycle (as described in the 'cycling' section above).
While you are waiting for the tank to cycle, you can buy any ornaments or gravel you wish to use to decorate the tank. Avoid real wood, shells/coral or limestone-based rocks - all of which can alter the water chemistry or stain the water. The best substrate to use in a goldfish tank is either smooth sand (but not crushed coral) or medium-sized pebbles. Make sure that if you do use something from your garden or something not specificaly made for use in a fish tank, you boil it first and that it was not exposed to any toxic chemicals. For example, don't use rocks from an area that was likely to have been sprayed with pesticides. You may also wish, at this point, to get a bubblestone or bubblewand. These are usualy powered by an air pump and are the little bubble-making objects you often see in aquariums. Though they are aestheticaly pleasing, they can also help increase the amount of oxygen in the tank (a good thing for the fish). Medium-sized bubbles are best - you can usualy adjust the setting to create bubbles the size you want. This kind of aeration is not necessarily as your filter should do the job anyway but it is beneficial to your fish and looks nice.
Maintainance
Once your tank is fully set up and cycled, maintainance is actualy quite minnimal. All you need to do is a weekly 25% water change with de-chlorinated tap water that's of a similar temperature to that in the tank. It's also a good idea to get a gravel vacuum so you can syphon out any debris into a bucket. You'll find the syphon also makes water changes a lot less tedious (as opposed to manualy removing cup-fulls of water for example) and the bucket enables you to calculate the volume you are removing and need to replace easily. Even if you aren't sure now, you'll get the hang of it pretty soon.
Besides the weekly water change and gravel vac., it's a good idea to clean out your filter once a month to stop it from getting clogged. Always do this just after you've removed tank water during a water change. This way you can use the old tank water to rinse out the filter media and sponges. It is essential that you NEVER use tap water to clean out the filter or else you risk killing off all the good bacteria. ALWAYS use old tank water to clean out the filter media/sponge.
Also of note is the fact that many filter manufacturers suggest you change the filter media and replace it on a regular basis - DON'T DO THIS. This is just one of many ways for them to get more of your money and is completely unecessary. Furthermore, and even more importantly, as it is this filter media that contains your good bacteria, removing it removes these good bacteria - causing your tank to un-cycle and deadly ammonia and nitrite spikes to occur. The only time when you might need to replace filter media is if the sponge is several years old and starting to fall apart - by this time you will no longer be needing this guide and will have become quite knowledgeable in respect to keeping goldfish. It's still worth mentioning, however, that in the event that you decide to replace your filter media completely, it should be done little by little. For example, you should cut out one quarter of it and replace that quarter, then a week later cut a different quarter, the week after the next quarter and so on until it has been fully replaced. Don't worry about replacing filter media now though - you will probably find you never have to do it at all.
Daily maintainance is limmited to feeding, which I have mentioned several times through-out this guide. Still, I'll outline some important points:
- It's best to feed little and often. By little I mean 2-3 flakes (if you are feeding flake) per fish or the equivalent amount in other forms of food.
- It's ok to feed more than once a day but only if you are prepaired to do more regular water changes to compensate for the extra waste. Idealy, feed only twice daily to avoid the need for extra water changes.
- Vary the diet as much as possible. Feeding several brands of flake is one way of doing this but it is even better to include different types of food altogether. For example:
- Blanched vegetables such as zuchinni
- De-shelled green peas
- Cucumber with the skin removed
- Live or frozen foods such as bloodworm, blackworm, brine shrimp and daphnia
- Pelleted foods
- Avoid freeze-dried foods. They often cause swim bladder problems and constipation and have little to no nutritional value.
- Pelleted or flake foods should be soaked for a couple of minutes before being fed. Make sure you use TANK water to soak them.
- Vegetable/green foods should be offered regularly (wash thoroughly first and boil where necessary) and left in the tank for up to 2 hours. Make sure you don't leave them for any longer than this as they will soon start rotting and pollute the tank water.
- Live and frozen foods are important if you want fast growth and healthy fish but don't over-feed with them. These are generaly messy foods so feed 2-3 times a week and make sure you remove any leftovers within half an hour.
- A diet of flake or pellet food alone is likely to lead to health problems such as swim bladder disease or constipation. Including green foods regularly and live/frozen supplements should reduce the risk of this. Keep in mind that commercial flake/pellet foods should still be the basis of your fish' nutrition as they do provide a well-rounded diet containing most of what your fish needs to be healthy.
Spotting the first signs of disease and how to treat.
The first thing to realise is that the number one cause of disease in fish is bad water quality and stress. If you can elliminate these, your fish will be healthy. If you fishless cycle the tank to begin with and buy a tank that's large enough for the number of goldfish you are proposing, and provided you then stick to doing a weekly water change and don't over-feed, your fish should never fall ill.
Unfortunately, things don't always work out this way. Sometimes a new addition will introduce disease or something beyond your control will stress the fish and make them susceptible to disease. If this happens, always be aware that the first thing you should do is check water quality. If ammonia and nitrIte are not 0 or nitrAte is above 20-40ppm, do a water change to bring them down (remember to use de-chlorinator).
The most common diseases in goldfish are:
Ich/ick - also known as white-spot: This looks like your fish is covered in grains of salt and is actualy one stage in the lifecycle of a protozoan parasite. There are many ways of treating but the most reliable is simply to buy an anti-white-spot medication from your fish store and follow the instructions. Water changes, as always, will be beneficial. There is a similar disease known as velvet that looks like a light sprinkling of gold dust. It can be treated using the same medications as ich.
Fungus: This is usualy a secondary infection that occurs over an injury or other open wound/dead tissue. It looks like a growth of white cotton wool-like fuzz. An anti-fungus medication from your fish store, combined with frequent water changes, usualy solves the problem. It is also often useful to add salt (NOT table salt - AQUARIUM salt) but make sure you know the appropriate amount to add beforehand.
External bacterial infections: Like the fungus, these often look like a white patch but are not as fuzzy/fluffy looking. They may also include areas of reddening - often around the gills or across fins - or apparently missing scales. Use an anti-bacterial medication to treat though water changes alone may solve most of the problem.
Fin-rot: This is probably one of the most common problems encountered in newly added goldfish. It looks like dark or white edges on fins or the fins may start to 'melt' away. Usualy, the problem is that the tank is not fully cycled and water changes, as usual, help immensely. Get an anti-fin-rot medication. Many of these medications are also made to treat secondary fungus infections that are likely to occur on top of the fin-rot. Again, fin-rot can be treated with the aid of aquarium salt but make sure the dosage is correct as too much can cause serious burns whilst too little simply is of no use.
Swim bladder disease: This is characterised by abnormal swimming - often the fish appears un-balanced. In more severe cases it won't be able to move up or down in the water - either resting at the bottom ro floating at the top. Sometimes the fish will swim in uncontrollable loops or tilted to one side. Unfortunately, though swim bladder problems can be avoided by feeding the right foods (keep flake/pellet foods to a minnimum or soak before feeding; supplement the diet with blanched zuchinni, de-shelled green peas, cucumber and, at least twice a week, live or frozen bloodworm, blackworm, daphnia or brine shrimp.), swim bladder can't realy be cured. The most common cause of this problem is food as mentioned above, occasionaly, however, it's an internal bacterial infection. In such cases, if caught early enough, treating with an antibiotic medication (prefferably one added to the food) can prevent the condition from progressing.
Dropsy: Though this is often considered a disease in itself, it is actualy a symptom of an internal bacterial infection. As such, the best treatment is antibiotics. However, dropsy is characterised by bloating and the pine-coning of scales (ie: the scales start to stick out like a pine cone). At this stage, the disease is usualy to far progressed to be treatable. Internal bacterial infections can also cause pop-eye where the eye(s) seem to buldge out. Don't confuse this with telscope-eye varieties of goldfish such as the black moor which have pronounced eyes due to their breeding.
Bloat/Constipation: Believe it or not, fish can get constipated. Usualy the problem is too much dry food and the best solution is simply to fast for a day and then feed some de-shelled green peas until the fish is pooping normaly again. Keep in mind, however, that bloating can also be a symptom of an internal bacterial or even parasitic infection.
Myths:
"The fish will grow to the size of the tank." - This is one of the most cruel rumours being spread around the fish-keeping world. No matter how small the tank, a healthy goldfish (or any other fish for that matter) WILL grow... and grow and grow. Indeed, goldfish will grow exceptionaly fast and require at least 20 gallons of water (around 80 litres) for the first goldfish and an additional 10 gallons for each goldfish after that. That means that to keep this social fish in, say, a group of 5, you would need a 60 gallon (240 litre) tank! There is limmited evidence to suggest that some freshwater fish will limmit their growth by releasing a growth-hindering hormone. However, in the wild, this is meant to be used as a temporary measure to aid survival during bad years. In a tank, there is no telling what kinds of side affects this will have after prolonged exposure. It has been suggested that when fish in captivity are forced to live in small quarters, their body stops growing but their internal organs continue to develop. This is reffered to as 'stunting'. Obviously, a fish that isn't growing on the outside to accomodate is growing organs will die a very slow and painful death. No fishkeeper should be willing to expose their pet to such suffering. Furthermore, 'stunting' will only occur if the tank's water is not changed weekly as it should be. If you maintain the tank properly, with weekly partial water changes and so on, the goldfish will grow normaly and will reach its full potential size.
"Goldfish can be kept with tropicals." - Besides the fact that goldfish are a coldwater species, tropical fish and goldfish are generaly incompatible. Goldfish produce vast amounts of waste - quickly polluting a warmwater tank and causing serious problems for water quality. The reason this is worse in a tropical tank is because the higher temperature means less oxygen can be held in the water. Both the fish and the beneficial bacteria in your filter and gravel need oxygen to survive. However, some 'fancy' goldfish varieties (eg: bubble-eyes, orandas, black moors, fantails, ryukins etc) have been bred for several generations in warmer climates. This does NOT mean that they are tropical though - it just means that they do well in slightly warmer temperatures such as the upper 60's/lower 70's (deg. F). Another good reason to avoid keeping coldwater fish with tropicals is that fish are cold-blooded. Those that evolved to live in colder climates are adapted to this so that they have the correct metabolic rate and expend the right amounts of energy. A coldwater fish kept in a tropical environment will have an increased metabolic rate. Besides this making the fish need more food and produce more waste, it also causes a lot of unecessary stress which almost always is the number one cause of disease. This increase in metabolic rate also effectively shortens the fish' lifespan and weakens its immune system.
"Goldfish can be kept in so-called 'goldfish bowls' without a filter." - NEVER put a goldfish in a bowl. Now that you know about the cycling process and about their potential size, I am sure you can see why. Goldfish get FAR too big for your average bowl and live a very long time if kept correctly. Keep in mind that a goldfish which dies at the age of 2 weeks is literally like a child living to just 2 months. Similarly, even a 5 year old goldfish is the equivalent of a 20 year old person. Now, surely, you want to have your pet live a full and pleasant life? Well then don't keep it in a bowl. Keep a single goldfish in at least a 20 gallon tank and add 10 gallons to that for each additional goldfish. As for the filter, you now no what role 'biological filtration' plays in keeping your fish healthy and you should know all about setting up your goldfish tank and cycling it. A filter not only helps break down lethal chemicals, it also filters out solid waste which would otherwise rot in your tank and make the water very dirty indeed and it also produces a flow of water. This current is essential because it provides 'surface aggitation'. In other words, it moves the surface of the water, rippling it. This increases the surface area - thus enabling more oxygen to enter the water. Oxygen to your fish, of course, is obviously essential.
What do I do if I have more questions?
Luckily, the world is full of dedicated aquarists and people who love goldfish. If you have a computer and access to the internet, that's a great place to start looking for further information. If not, there are plenty of books you can buy or borrow that will help you along the way.
One excellent place to look for information is "Tropical Fish Forums". The address of this site is: www.fishforums.net and it's by far one of the very best sources of information on the internet - and incredibly friendly too. Take a read through the coldwater section first to see if your question has already been answered. Then ask away!
I also reccomend visiting this site for general goldfish information and to see some of the goldfish strains available to you: www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk
Lastly, take a look at the home page of Practical Fishkeeping Magazine: www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/home You can also find this magazine for sale at most reputable newsagents.
Ok, that's the end of it, I hope it was somewhat useful to you despite it not being about tropicals. Hopefuly that'll get you started as well. Please make sure you've read the links in my signature as well though. Feel free to reply to this with a million questions
I'd be happy to explain anything at all.Good luck and sorry about the bits that are more concerned with goldfish - I just literally copied and pasted it from a word file
Sylvia
edit: LOL - I just looked back at it - I'm realy, realy sorry about the length
It may take a while to read through so I just hope it's of use to you!Similar threads
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